Automatic Faucets
by zaki-kun
Summary: Summary: In this day and age, automation are the trend of many establishments. Almost everything is automatic. But when you are used to seeing this, will you still remember how to use the manual things? yes you can! as long as you have a crimson-eyes woman to help you with it. ;) A/U, OOC. ShizNat.


**A/N: I know haven't updated the other fics, and i assure you, mental block is a tough enemy. So until i get my groove back, here's a one-shot. The idea came to me while eating at Jolibee with my gf. and the faucet incident here is a true to life story. my gf was the victim :p (peace!) so I ask your small time to read and hope to make you laugh. ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mai Hime/Otome or even McDonalds. thanks. ;)**

* * *

**Automatic Faucets  
**

After classes in Garderobe State University (GSU), Natsuki Kruger, age 19, is always running to her beloved midnight blue colored 2011 Ducati 848 evo and driving it to McDonalds and ordering her favorite 1 pound burger- oozing with mayonnaise with side of fries and large mountain dew drink. She'll be meeting up with her friends, well to her opinion, self-proclaimed friends of Natsuki. The drive always takes 10 minutes for her compared to the 20 minute ride for most drivers, considering the way she drives her bike is of a pro-level considering she's a racer for the KS-Motors. So driving to the fastfood establishment, Natsuki recalled what her motherly-like friend talked about during their history class.

_Flashback_

The history professor known as Midori stood before her class with a childish grin on her face. She has her right hand at the back of her head while both her eyes are closed, readying to tell something to her class. "So since the dean wants to talk to me about my recent _accident"_ she told the class with a forced laugh. The class just sweat-dropped and some of them face-palmed at their professor's antics. After instructing them to behave while she's away, everyone just went to do their own thing such as doing other subject homework, lounging or chatting away.

Among those who lounged is the blunette with a thunderbolt hairpin to keep her bangs at the side. Natsuki. Wearing a light blue short sleeved hoodie shirt and a grey 6 pocket fatigue pants that covered her black converse, Natsuki was slouched in her chair, along with Mai who is her classmate at the said class. "I bet Midori went home so late again to have Yohko to be all 'dean mode' on her again eh?" She snickered as she watched the door close after Midori left.

Her classmate, Mai Tokiha, is leaning on the table of her chair with her hand propped up to support her chin. Her fiery-colored hair swayed along her head as she tilted them back and forth. "Who knows." She pushed away from the table and stretched her arms up in the air and her grey herringbone shoes, stretching her short sleeved fleece shirt that's stretched along the chest area due to her bust and her fitted denim pants. "Anyway, what are you up to later Nat-kun? Still running to that fastfood joint?" she asked her friend.

The blunette in questioned nodded her head and yawned. "Yeah. You know how I need my daily dose of that meaty burger with mayonnaise." She told her busty friend. A drop of saliva trailed down on the side of her lips as she imagined her greasy food.

"Ugh! You and your mayonnaise. You know, you need to have someone to restrain you from that whitegoo, aside me ofcourse. Maybe a caring girlfriend." Mai suggested in a bored manner.

Natsuki sat up straight and glared at her friend. "Girlfriend? Why do you even think I'm looking for a girlfriend? Isn't it the first choice would be 'boyfriend'?" she inquired with a left brow raised. Mai gave her the same expression, as if telling her it's already obvious. "Explain." She demanded with a frown.

"Really? You want me to point it out?" Mai asks, both eyes wide open in surprise. The blunette nodded her head and Mai felt like face-palming herself at her friend's dense nature. "the way you dress, how you glare at those men who try to ask you out, how you treat women in a gentlemanly manner if needed, and not to mention you're a pro-biker driving a monstrous deathtrap and a marksman at that." She said while counting with her fingers. Each finger being curled, Natsuki winched her left eye and her left lip.

"TO-KI-HA!" Natsuki shouted at the same time the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Hearing the blunette howl in annoyance, Mai paled and scurried away with her things in her arms.

_End of Flashback_

The short drive ended and she parked her bike at the empty space near the front of the establishment. Removing her helmet and let her long cobalt colored hair to flow freely at her back, a hand ran over them and combed the loose strands into place. After securing her helmet into place, Natsuki went to the establishment and looked for her friends who got there earlier than her due to their class ending early.

"Mutt over here!" a red-haired teen called out to Natsuki. Waving a few times, she pointed the table she and a few more people occupied.

The name that was called to Natsuki made her grit her teeth and stomp her way towards the table that was pointed to her. Upon arriving at the table, she scanned around and saw the usual occupants of it.

The journalism students Chie Hallard and her girlfriend Aoi Senoh.

Mai together with the freshman of world languages course, Mikoto Minagi.

And last of the bunch is the red-haired teen, Music student, Julilet Nao Zhang.

Among Natsuki's friends, Nao is her comrade-in-arms in being a delinquent, though Nao and her often throw insults with each other.

"Juliet!" Natsuki said the red-head's name with annoyance and through gritted teeth. She slumped down on the empty space between Mikoto and Nao and she pinched the red-head's ear for her insult.

Nao yelped in pain and slapped Natsuki's arm in revenge for pinching her ear. With her action, an arm slapping war started and verbal insults was thrown by the two delinquents. Mai gave the two a few minutes of insults and abusing before she decided to break them up and chided them for acting like kids. That and the fact that people are starting to stare at them for acting rowdy at the place.

"Natsuki! Just order up and eat your meal." Mai ordered.

Natsuki stiffened and playfully saluted at Mai. "Ma'am yes ma'am!" she replied, jumping out of the seat and jogging towards the counter.

While they are eating their food, as the usual routine, everyone around Natsuki stared at her in disbelief. How the woman can consume such amount of mayonnaise. They did try to give her a salad with miracle whip but they all ran from the scene of the crime since Natsuki started to chase them down with a gun in hand. They still cringe as they remember Natsuki shooting a few meters away from them and shouting 'Do you think you can fool me with that poser of a mayonnaise?!' It was an event they would only experience once in their life.

Getting enough of watching the blunette eat her heart-killing meal, Mai looked at Chie. "Say Chie-chan, did you get the statistics I asked for?"

The glasses-wearing journalism student grinned widely and took out her galaxy note 2 and scrolled for the information Mai needed. Upon landing on the site that she needs to see, she gave the device to the busty chef-in-training. "As requested, the polls are overwhelming!"

The site that Chie showed to Mai is the campus group page, 'Garderobe Otome'. In the group page contains a poll about Natsuki's majority admirers. The choices shows are the male and female departments. And as the page shows, the poll is favoring the female option. Mai laughed and showed the device to the others aside from Natsuki who's engrossed with her food and they all agreed that it's really laughable.

Noticing her friend's behavior, Natsuki swallowed the last bite of her burger and looked around the table. Her friends was snickering and looking at her with grins on their faces. "What? What are you guys looking at?" Mai gave her the device and her emerald eyes read and analyzed what they are laughing at. After a few minutes, Natsuki shot up from her seat in shock, toppling the large cup of coke on her pants.

"Ohhh! The mutt peed on her pants!" Nao teased. The now angry engineering student was about to choke Nao if not for Mikoto restraining her. Mai produced a roll of newspaper from out of nowhere and hit Nao and Natsuki at the head for acting rowdy at a public place, again.

"Natsuki quit with acting stupid. It's just apoll." Mai pointed.

"To correct, a poll on how popular our dear lone wolf within the campus. And damn Natsuki, almost eighty-nine percent of the school female population? That's second to the kaichou too." Chie added, making Nao and Aoi snicker while Natsuki growl threateningly at them.

Mai glared at Chie for a minute and sigh in defeat. "You're not helping Chie. Anyway, go to the washroom and change to your biker outfit and let's go to your house and clean that stain." Mai pointed the stairs to the second floor where the comfort room is located. Natsuki grumbled and took her backpack that contains her biker suit and stomped away to the second floor.

Mikoto's golden colred eyes watched Natsuki and then looked at the Galaxy note. "Mai, why is it Natsuki has no girlfriend?" she asks.

Mai ruffled Mikoto's hair and offered her a gentle smile. "Because Natsuki haven't met the right one yet."

* * *

After changing into her biker suit, Natsuki was still grumbling on her misfortune. It was bad enough of having a hard time dealing with men proposing their undying love for her, like Takeda of the Kendo club, and some women which she can't be rough in declining their offers. "Darn stupid Mai…argh!" she groaned loudly and went out of the cubicle to wash her hands. Geared up in her Tron-themed women biker suit ( www. gizmodo. com. au /2010/10/the-us795-shoe-and-other-stupidexpensive-tron-merchandise/), Natsuki went to the lavatory to start removing the sticky feeling on her hand.

When she's infront of the sink, the blunette looked at her hair in the mirror while her hand reached for the faucet. Feeling up the handle of the faucet, she assumed that the cylinder-shaped handle is to be pushed in order to produce water. But the handle didn't budge and Natsuki looked down to check on the reason why. She then proceeds to assume that the faucet can be sensor-based hence she placed her hand below the faucet nozzle and waved her hand to the possible sensor. But again no water came out.

"Argh! What the hell is wrong with this darn thing!" she said in furstrartion, continuing to swipe her hand below the nozzle or push the handle of the faucet.

"Ara? Here let me help." A slender hand slid beside Natsuki and turned the handle to the left side and water started pouring out of the faucet. Natsuki looked at the mirror and saw a woman, dressed in a service crew clothing, smiling at her. She turned around and was now face-to-face with a tall brunette with piercing crimson eyes.

"Uh?"

The service crew giggled at Natsuki's reaction. "Fufufu you're cute." The crew teased with a Kyoto accent, watching Natsuki's impersonation of a guppy and her face slowly looking like a broiled octopus.

"VIOLA! Let's go! We pill have work to do!" a loud voice echoed at the small area. "Haruka-chan it's 'still' not pill." A meek voice followed. The brunette only giggled and bid her leave to Natsuki.

"What the hell happen?" Natsuki said out loud.

For the first time in Natsuki's life, she was smitten.

* * *

**Natsuki's apartment – night time**

She paced around her room, thumbnail clenched in between her front teeth, mumbling incoherent words. The encounter with the red-eyed service crew made her feel squirmy and whenever she thinks about those eyes and smile of hers made her stomach feel odd, like tons of flapping wings flying around it. After the encounter, all she can think about is that service crew, but she never told her friends about it.

Long pale brown hair.

Crimson piercing eyes.

Alluring Kyoto-ben accent.

"Argh! Why the hell am I even thinking about her!" she shouted with her arms up in the air. Groaning loudly, Natsuki trudged towards her bed and slumped down, face first, into it. "ugh.. Why are you stuck in my head?!" She then yelled at her fluffy pillow and groaned yet again. "Hmp! I'm not going to be stupid and look for you." She declared, hoping to wash away the foreign longing feeling she now feels.

* * *

"Welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order?" an overly cheerful male service crew greeted Natsuki who was frowning and looking around the area behind the counter.

Natsuki wants to hit her head at the counter table for being pathetic to actually skip her last class to be at the fastfood area earlier than usual. Her body failed her in what her brain had decided the night before. First when she entered the fastfood area, she scanned around the tables to see if any brunette with crimson colored eyes is cleaning or serving the food, but no luck as there is no sign of her target. And hence she's now infront of the counter, hoping to get a glimpse of the brunette at the kitchen area. There may be brunettes among the crew, but none of them has the light shade that the one she is looking for or the crimson colored eyes.

"Yah, can you give me one-pound burger, large fries and mountain dew and ten packets of mayonnaise? Thanks." She ordered with a tone of disappointment in her voice.

The crew gave her a disbelief look, looking at her from head to waist, like the ones she usually gets when she orders her food. As if they can't believe such sexy woman is capable of eating such greasy food. After Natsuki sighs and gave the crew one of her deathglare, and immediately the male crew punched in her order and scurried to get it.

"here's your order and waiting number. The one pound burger will be served to you after five minutes." The crew informed her, pushing the tray that contains the packets of mayo, fries and drink. Natsuki nodded her head, took the tray and proceed to find an empty table for her and her friends.

The next day, Natsuki went back to the fastfood joint again to find the service crew. But again, she finds herself unlucky seeing as there is no brunette with crimson colored eyes among the service crew. This was going on and on for the week and was finally noticed by her friends on her un-Natuski like behavior. Mai would ask on why she was going to McDonalds earlier than the others or why she was looking around whenever they were eating or why the usual bathroom breaks before they go home. But Natsuki just glared at them whenever they inquired her about her behavior.

* * *

**2 weeks after Natsuki's first meeting with the brunette, McDonalds.**

"Natsuki this is getting on my nerves now. Tell me what the hell is up to you!" Mai inquired, finally getting tired of Natsuki's skittish movements in the last two weeks. She was overly curious on what was Natsuki hiding from them that cause the blunette to skip her last classes. And the fact that her class skipping escapades has alerted the student council.

"Nothing…" Natsuki mumbled as she bit on her burger while her eyes were scanning around the area.

Nao too was getting annoyed at Natsuki's antics. She may not admit it but she misses her partner-in crime since the lone-wolf was always out of her usual delinquent groove. "Yah mutt, what gives? That Armitage is now in your tail after the wee of skipping your last class. What are you up to act like that?" Nao asked in irritation, pointing her index finger at Natsuki's uneasy behavior.

"Like what?" Naysuki snapped out of her search for the brunette mode and turned to her friends who were looking at her with annoyed to curious expressions. "What?" she asks again, still not knowing why they are giving her such incredulous looks.

"Really? You serious Natsuki? Even Mikoto there knows something is up and I can't even pinpoint on what it is. You know, me!" Chie was now frustrated in her inability to know the change in Natsuki's routine. She tried to ask around or even stalk the blunette but no avail. She wrapped an arm around Aoi's shoulder and whined loudly. "Babe! I'm losing my touch!" she then slowly creep her hand onto Aoi's chest but was quickly swatted away by her girlfriend. Aoi pinched her ear and glared at her perverted attempt.

"Ignore them. So what's the deal Natsuki? Are you looking for someone?" Mai asked again.

The blunette still didn't understand to what they are talking about. Swallowing the bite of burger, she scrunched up her nose as she looked at her friends again with a panned face. "I don't even understand what you all are saying." She took the last bite of her burger and chewed it a few times before swallowing it. "Anyway, am done here. I'm going home." She took one final glance around the area and sighed deeply before she left.

"Do you think she's looking for someone?" Aoi asks with her left finger at her left cheek, thinking on the possibilities on Natsuki's unusual behavior. "Since she kept on glancing around and all."

Everyone looked at Aoi and then tried to see if what she said was even possible. Mai thought that it's cute, Mikoto ignored it and focused on her food while Chie and Nao both laughed out loud. The two laughed, thinking it wasn't possible that Natsuki is even looking for someone.

* * *

"Juliet! Where is that frequent partner of yours?!" yelled the blonde executive director of the student council. Behind her is the student council secretary who tugged her green sleeve and corrected her word.

"it's 'delinquent' Haruka-chan." The meek mousy-haired secretary turned to Nao who has both her hands cupping her ears. "Forgive her Zhang-san. But we are looking for Kruger-san to talk about her skipping habits. The kaichou pointed it out and she deliberately asked to meet and talk to her." Yukino told the red-haired student.

Nao shook her head to get the ringing sound off her ears and stuck her pinkie finger inside her right ear. "Sheesh! Yukino keep your speaker at a low volume. If you are looking for the mutt, she already left. Been doing that for two weeks now. If you want to catch her, go to McDonalds." Nao told Yukino as she wiggled her pinkie to clear out her hearing. "Now can I go? I have classes with that scary Miss Maria at solfège class." Nao informed the two S.C officials. The two nodded their heads, Haruka adding a hand wave to shoo Nao away, to release Nao from their questioning.

"McDonalds? Let's go Yukino!" Haruka declared dragging Yukino towards the parking area where they'll fetch Haruka's car and drive to the said establishment.

"She gone yet?" Natsuki asks, walking out of the corner. When she heard Haruka's loud yelling for her name, she pushed Nao to face the blonde lion and she hid at the corner until the coast is clear.

The red head has a brow raised and looked at Natsuki with an annoyed look."Yeah mutt. You can crawl out of your doggy house now." She told the blunette. When Natsuki came out and walked beside her, she immediately punched her in the arm with a force enough to make Natsuki wince and yelp in pain. "Next time, don't throw me in the lion's den! Stupid mutt!"

Natsuki rubbed the sore spot on her arm and grumbled incoherent curses at her friend's rough movement.

* * *

**3****rd**** week, McDonalds.**

Natsuki was frowning and has her body slumped down on the table. This time, it was just Mai who was dining with her as the others had their own agenda for the day. It has been three weeks since Natsuki's unusual behavior started and not even one of her friends knew what she had been up to. And Mai has the mission to find out today.

"So now tell me. . .Kruger?" Mai said through greeted teeth. She was now holding the packets of mayo away from Natsuki, holding it hostage. "You better tell me or else I'll make sure your tongue would never taste this vile condiment of yours."

Natsuki growled and glared at Mai while still slumped down on the table. The past weeks, all her attempts to find the brunette were in vain. "NO-TH-ING AT ALL." Mai gave her a threatening look and her hand gestured for the packets of mayo to be thrown. Immediately, she bolted up from her seat with a horror look on her face. "Fine fine! I'll tell you! Just don't waste my mayo!" she said in fear.

Mai has to par herself in the back for her brilliant idea of holding the condiment as hostage. Who knew Natsuki's love for it would result to making her speak. "So?"

The blunette fidgeted for a bit before giving out an exhausted sigh. Her back leaned on the hard bench and her arms supported her head. "Look I'm looking for a service crew here. She…" she pauses and looked around for a bit then to Mai. "She took me by surprise and somehow I can't take her off my mind now." She told Mai with blush running on her cheeks.

The fiery-haired busty woman squealed in delight. She held back her comment until Natsuki finished what's she's saying.

"So for three weeks I'm trying to find her here. But all my attempts failed me."

"Attempts?" Mai asks in curiosity. Natsuki blushed harder and nodded her head. "Tell me! Tell me!"

"Uh… you noticed me going here early?"

Mai's eyes widen in shock and nodded her head.

"Yah that's one of 'em."

Mai tilted her head. "One? How many attempts did you even do?"

Natsuki crossed her arms and closed her eyes to think of the attempts she made. After recollecting all of them, she opened her eyes and began counting on what she remembered.

"Aside from coming here, I tried calling delivery a few times. But after the tenth delivery which none of those who delivered are female, I gave up."

"Oh so that's why Mikoto was eating a lot of burgers. Continue."

"Yah. I had a lot of burger that time. Then I pretend to inquire about arranging a birthday party and asked if they have an emcee with brunette hair and Kyoto accent. Bu again I failed." Natsuki's fist now have three fingers up.

Mai blinked a few times. She does remember Mikoto telling her about Natsuki making her pretend to be a kid who wanted to have a party at the fastfood place. She shook her head dejectedly at Natsuki's usage of their feline friend.

"Oh I just tried to apply here. But after getting the job and checking the crew roster, I quit. None of them here knows the person I'm looking for." Natsuki told Mai and let out a defeated sigh. She slumped back to her seat, placed an arm on her eyes and took the large cup of drink with her free hand to bring it to her mouth to satisfy her growing thirst. She was growing frustrated in keeping it all bottled up. "Mai… I think… I really like her." She finally admitted.

Mai couldn't believe what she heard. Natsuki did all of those for the sake of finding the one person who was lucky enough to capture her friend's attention and heart in a possible manner. "So basically, you did all of that, to find this crew who has brunette hair and Kyoto accent?" she tried to clear out. Natsuki nodded in answer to her question. She scooted closer to her friend and pulled her in a comforting hug. "There, there Natsuki. You'll find her." She calmed her friend.

At first Natsuki stiffened at the contact but eventually gave in and just let Mai hug her. _'I guess I found my first love but also lost it immediately.'_ She sighs deeply and pushed Mai a bit and thanked her for the comfort.

* * *

"Come back here Kruger!" Haruka yelled, chasing the running blunette at the tracks of the school grounds. Haruka finally found Natsuki after hounding her for a full 4 weeks since the start of her skipping. She found her training at the tracks during the blunette's P.E class and she took no time to delay the inevitable chase.

Natsuki ran towards the school building in hope to shake the blonde official away from her back. She turned to the next corner and slipped inside the semi-open door. When she stealthily closed the door and heard the rough steps of her pursuer passing by her hiding area, she exhaled loudly and slumped down on the cold floor. She was drained from running a full five kilometers during her P.E class to another five kilometers of chase with the lion of the student council.

The full four weeks of no luck in finding her Kyoto-ben brunette made her down in the dumps and the whole running with the lion add up to her stress. She took out her towel from her back and wiped the gushing sweat from her head and body. "Darn that Armitage! Who knew she can run that fast?!" she grumbled. She looked around the room and noticed that it was neat in design.

It was a small classroom with four tables, pairs on each side, and one table at the middle of the two pairs. The setting sun covered half of the room, darkening the area behind the table a bit.

"Ara? You must be Natsuki Kruger." A thick Kyoto-accented voice cut Natsuki's observation. Green eyes immediately darted at the dark part of the middle table and saw a lone figure sitting behind it. Emerald eyes adjusted her vision and saw a womanly figure behind the table,and holding some sort of cup in her hands. Aside from the figure, the voice was stuck on her head and struck her heart as if it recognized it.

The sound of ceramic being placed on the table and the chair legs skidding on the floor echoed in the whole room. Natsuki had to swallow the lump in her throat and nervously anticipated the woman who spoke to her. She was frozen on her spot. Jean-clad legs was illuminated by the sun rays and the sad legs slowly walked towards Natsuki and the figure was slowly being shown to her.

Crimson piercing eyes stared at surprised emeralds. "Fufufu. I have been waiting for you for four weeks, Nat-su-ki. You made me wait for oh so long." The woman said with a bit of mirth and giggle.

The ghost feeling of her mouth hanging open was all Natsuki can feel upon seeing the woman before her. Dressed in a v-cut white shirt that hugged her body in the right curves and the denim jeans that showed her near-perfect figure and matched the lace heels made Natsuki stare at the woman like a ghost.

"Arara. Cat got your tongue?" the woman asks in a sultry voice, slowly kneeling in front of Natsuki in eye-level. The two stared for a few minutes and Natsuki was still awe-struck before her. "Fufufu. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Shizuru Viola. The person who helped you before in the comfort room to turn on the faucet." The woman named Shizuru smiled sweetly at Natsuki who was now blushing wildly.

"Y-yeah. N-nice to finally meet you V-Viola-san." Natsuki stuttered nervously.

Hearing Natsuki's husky stuttering voice made Shizuru's heart pounce harder yet again. Like the time she first laid eyes on Natsuki, not at the fastfood CR, butu during Natsuki's freshman meeting. Where Shizuru was announcing her appreciation speech in being elected as S.C president.

"Please, do call me Shizuru. I bet we have a lot to talk about yes?" Shizuru stood up, still smiling at Natsuki who followed her movement.

Natsuki silently nodded, still staring at the alluring crimson eyes. "Y-yeah Sh-Shizuru." A hand was offered to her whom she hesitantly took and she was pulled up by the brunette.

"Shall we start with your skipping habits? Since I am student council president. Fufufufu." Shizuru started, making Natsuki look more surprised than she first saw her enter the student council room. Natsuki started stuttering incoherent words, pointing at Shizuru as if asking to what she was talking about. "Oh if you must know, I welcome you to the student council room. I am the student council president who asked dear Haruka to fetch you. I do want to meet you and your skipping habits gave such opportunity. Fufufu."

Processing all of what Natsuki heard, a lone yell of fear echoed outside the student council room and the grunts and call for help followed it. Natsuki finally meeting the mysterious service crew was both satisfying and annoying to her from there on.

* * *

**OMAKE:**

Natsuki: say Shizuru… -looking at the brunette that's drinking tea-

Shizuru: -places tea cup on table- yes dear Natsuki?

Natsuki: why were you wearing that service crew clothes if you're not even a service crew?

Shizuru: oh that? Fufufu. It was Haruka's fault if you want to know. She accidentally tipped the table that contained our drinks and I was drenched from torso down to my waist. A service crew was kind enough to lend me her spare uniform.

Natsuki: OHHHH! Make sense to me now.

Zaki: I'm still laughing at your inability to open the faucet.

Natsuki: (blushing) H-hey! I didn't know that fastfood was using such low-end facility.

Zaki: whatever makes you sleep at night. HAHAHA!

* * *

**A/N: hahaha how was it? funny? coz honestly, i was laughing when i was typing this :P hope ya guys give me your opinions. until then,,,, **


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